Persepolis

When I purchased Persepolis at the KSU bookstore I didn't give this book a 2nd glance. I was just like oh just a book I have to read. A day or two later I looked up the call number in the front of the book to see where it would fit in my Dewey that I do at work. I saw that it was a 741.5. I started thinking but that is where the graphic novels are. So I start flipping through the book and sure enough it is a graphic novel. I immediately started dreading to read this book. Before I knew it was a graphic novel I was interested in reading about Marjane Satrapi and her childhood in Iran, all that was gone.

Finally, in English we were assigned to read the book. So I picked up my copy of Persepolis and started to read. Despite it being a graphic novel I throughly enjoyed this book. I do not know much about Iran or what it is like to grow up there now or in the past. I could not believe what I got from this graphic novel. This is the 3rd graphic novel that I have read and the only one that I have liked. It opened my eyes to what it would be like to live in Iran in the late 70's and early 80's. Growing up in the US, I have been fortunate enough to not actually witness war. I could not believe how if Satrapi and her family heard sirens they would need to run to the basement. I have lost friends before but not due to a war. She had several uncles tortured and killed and a friends home bombed. The women were forced to wear veils because they (the government or those over the country) thought the womens hair was a turn on for men. They were punished if they did not wear them correctly. Unfortunately, I do not know if Iran is still that way today but I see now what it was like.

Satrapi did a great job of writing this graphic novel to make it not have a comic book feel to it. I believe the illustrations helped explain things instead of just being pictures to go along with the words. On the back cover there is a sequel listed. I do not care if it is a graphic novel or not but I am going to check at the public library to see if they have it or order it. After reading this I have to know what has happened between Satrapi and her parents after she moved to Vienna.

Overall, I think this is a great book and I am actually kinda mad at myself for being repulsed by it after finding out it was a graphic novel. It is defintely a book that I will keep for my personal library and when I begin teaching I will have it in the classroom for my students to borrow. I think it would do students some good to read it; especially those that do not understand what goes on in other parts of the world for kids their own age. I would defintely recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read it!